Course Review: Fanshawe Golf Course, by Jeffrey Reed (August 2005)

Copyright 2005 London Ontario Golf

It’s not too often the golf gods permit me to review a course where I honed my skills as a junior golfer. So, when I revisited Fanshawe Golf Course in northeast London, I took full advantage of this golden opportunity – and played 36 holes on a sweltering summer day. The journey was long – much longer than I remember from my teenage years – but well worth it, as Fanshawe GC once again provided me with fond memories of an extraordinary public layout.

My recent visit to Fanshawe GC proved, the more things change the more they stay the same. As a junior member, I admired the iron shots of my pro, Mike Olizarevitch, who still holds that post today. Known for his skills in club repair, Olizarevitch has been a Fanshawe GC member ever since it opened for play in 1958. As an 11-year-old, he took $10 from his newspaper route savings to purchase a junior membership. He was named assistant pro in 1965, and in 1970 took the reins of head pro from Bill Fox, who was then promoted to London’s supervisor of golf.

When I played Fanshawe as a youngster, the idyllic rural land adjacent to Fanshawe Lake rested on the outskirts of London. Thanks to annexation in 1993, the entire Fanshawe Conservation Area – and golf land on Sunningdale Road east of Clarke Road – now sit within city borders. While thousands flock to London’s Springbank Park, I still consider the Fanshawe area a well-kept secret thanks to its true rural flavour. As for the golf at Fanshawe, it’s anything but a hidden gem; rather, it’s a frequently-visited golf gem in the eyes of thousands of Londoners.

As a junior golfer, I played Fanshawe’s original 18 holes. A slightly tweaked version now plays as the Traditional course. Milkshakes at the clubhouse were a popular treat for me and my partners in the mid- to late-1970s. While the milkshakes are gone, the clubhouse (built in 1971) remains a popular haunt. A second 18-hole layout – The Blue Monster – now rests beside the Traditional layout. In June 1983, the blue nine opened, and in 1998 the Blue Monster became an 18-hole track.

Also in 1998, Fanshawe’s wheelchair-accessible Parkside Nine opened and remains North America’s only course specifically designed for physically challenged golfers. It doubles as a short facility for young junior golfers.


Fanshawe Traditional

Heavily treed with mature forests, and boasting a number of tough par-3 holes, the Fanshawe Traditional layout measures 6,183 yards from the back tees, and 5,576 yards from the front tees. This course provided me with my afternoon round on this hot, hazy, humid day. I was partnered with aspiring LPGA pro Angie Green of London who joined me from the tips, and exposed every weakness in my short game. However, the round was a thoroughly enjoyable one, as it provided me with a trip down memory lane, reminded me how much modern technology has changed the game of golf – and reminded me I was no longer a teenager.

The four par-5s at the Traditional course are all birdie holes, including the 1st hole, a 525-yard dogleg left with a severe drop-off off the tee, heavy forest to the left, but a forgiving downhill approach shot to the green. The real beauty of the Traditional layout rests in the par-3s – all six of them providing a unique challenge. No. 2 demands a 212-yard uphill tee shot and features a severe slope at the front of the green – not an easy par. Both No. 12 – 217 yards – and No. 15 – 235 yards – require both accuracy and strength, and just the right club into protected greens.

My favourite hole at the Traditional course remains No. 13, a 510-yard hole with an out-of-bounds fence immediately to the left separating the hole from Fanshawe’s picnic and beach area. The green requires an uphill approach shot to some nasty sloping terrain. This hole used to play as No. 4, and at one time was the longest hole in the entire city. It remains, however, a true test of golf.

Fanshawe’s Traditional course remains an outstanding test of golf, thanks in part to some challenging doglegs, and is a real testament to the city’s outstanding municipal golf system. The only minus was the condition of the bunkers, and the inconsistent speed of the greens; however, they were in much better shape than some I’ve played at upscale courses in the area. And considering the hot summer of 2005, plus the numerous rounds played at the Traditional course, they did play well.

Fanshawe Blue Monster

My morning round was my first crack at the Blue Monster, measuring 6,504 yards from the tips and 5,643 yards from the front tees. In contrast to the Traditional layout, the Blue Monster is a links-style course featuring wide-open, fescue-bordered fairways, and a number of ponds. It’s a young course with a number of seasons required before it reaches its true potential as a beautiful yet challenging golf course. However, the greens rolled surprisingly quick and true, and the entire course was in immaculate condition.

I played the front 9 solo, and at No. 10 joined a threesome of 20-something golfers from nearby Dorchester, each of whom raved about the course. At this time, allow me to thank my friends, graphite, titanium and nano technology for helping me outdrive these youngsters at most holes. Entering through the gates at Fanshawe, and peering down into the course resting on land once occupied by a gravel pit, one doesn’t see the true beauty nor the brawn of the Blue Monster. However, once you are in the belly of this monster, you respect it’s muscle – and its gorgeous natural beauty.

The Blue Monster offers a complete round of risk reward. No. 7, a par-5, 518-yard slight dogleg left, tempts you to get home in two. I was there – until I left my approach shot with my hybrid just a little left and caught some of the few tall trees on the course. There’s a nice walk down a path through the woods to No. 8, a 142-yard par-3 with a very large marsh between tee and green. The hole plays tough thanks to tricky terrain that makes it difficult to choose the right club. I had to settle for par. But I did birdie No. 9, a 666-yard monster dogleg left thanks to a monster drive and almost equally long approach shot.

The Blue Monster is just that – a devilish design that lures you with its beauty. While the Traditional course is my sentimental favourite, the Blue Monster is now one of my favourite public links in southwestern Ontario.

Parkside Nine

Designed and constructed for physically challenged golfers, and for young golfers under age 9, the Parkside Nine course opened in 1998 thanks in large to the vision of Olizarevitch. It remains North America’s only golf course specifically designed for special needs golfers. Nine holes measure from 60 to 100 yards – 652 yards in total – and golfers can drive power carts onto the greens to putt. Parkside Nine is also a great place for families to learn and enjoy the game together. It also hosts the annual Disabled Golf Tournament for the Madame Lise Thibault Cup, named after the lieutenant governor of Quebec, a disabled golfer who learned how to golf at Fanshawe. Thibault called the course a model for other municipalities. Like the Traditional and Blue Monster layouts, the Parkside Nine is something of which the City of London is very proud.

Fanshawe GC
London, Ont.
519-661-4436
Green Fees:
$31 weekdays, $35 weekends and holidays; Parkside Nine $6.50
www.london.ca/recreation/golf/fanshawe.htm